To enhance safety for infants and adult home health care patients as well as promote preservation of the ecology, there is a trend by consumers to return to use of reusable, rather than disposable, infant and adult diapers. A recent improvement to reusable diapers is in the replacement of pin fasteners by fasteners of filamentary material, such as hook and loop filamentary material manufactured by Velcro Corporation and Aplix Corporation. In this regard, reference is made to my previous U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,591 which discloses a cloth diaper having filamentary fasteners together with a self-closing tab cover that protects the fasteners from buildup of lint during washing.
Consumers of cloth diapers, particularly of fitted diapers, are very sensitive to cost as well as to convenience of use of the product. As the cost of materials forming the cloth diaper is relatively fixed, difference in price among similar reusable diapers depend significantly on cost of manufacturing.
In addition to cost and convenience, marketability of such diapers depends on the tailoring of the product, that is, not only on whether the diaper functions adequately in the manner intended but also on whether the diaper has a good finished appearance. The diaper should have no rough or raw edges visible and no other evidence of apparent poor workmanship. The diaper furthermore must adequately absorb and direct fluid away from clothing and from surrounding bedding, even when worn by an infant or adult in the prone position, and must be capable of drying quickly. To prevent leakage of fluid, any piercing of waterproof material by stretching should be avoided. The diaper should be configured to cup the groin of the wearer so as to encase fluid.
In addition to all these requirements, safety of any diaper to an infant or adult wearing it is paramount to any design. The infant or adult must be reusable of removing the diaper himself and lifting it to the region of his head.